8 Ways To Start Eating and Living Clean

We have an awesome post on our blog today from guest blogger Tom at http://timetocleanse.com talking about the 8 steps you can take to start eating and living clean. And what’s our motto #PumpUpFam, “Eat Clean, Train Dirty” right? Learn how to accomplish the eating clean part right here!

Do you find yourself always rushing from place to place, grabbing a quick, cheap snack or stopping for fast food to ease your hunger pains? You know it’s bad for you, but you’re hungry and you can’t be bothered to look for something healthier to eat. You don’t just fill your body with unhealthy food; you feel guilty about your lack of will power. Eventually, you might even decide that trying to avoid junk food is a waste of time.

What’s the problem? You’re dieting and counting calories when you should be changing the way you live. A clean lifestyle will eliminate unhealthy temptation. Once you’ve switched to clean living - doing your best to avoid toxic chemicals in your food and your environment - you won’t even think about drinking soda, eating potato chips or having a fast food burger and fries for dinner.

Are you tired of the cycle of binging on junk and then feeling guilty about it? Here’s how you can start eating and living clean right now!

1. Give up one thing at a time

There’s no way you’re going to change from a Dorito-munching, soda-guzzling processed food fanatic to an organic foods enthusiast overnight. So take it slow. How about replacing the can of Coke you usually have with dinner with a couple of glasses of water instead? Or snacking on grapes instead of potato chips? These simple changes will get you started without throwing your body into shock, making you want to drown your pain in a container of additive-filled supermarket ice cream.

2. Make sure you have plenty of healthy snacks around

When you’re hungry, your body is telling you it needs fuel. Ignoring hunger signals will almost certainly backfire, making you overeat when you finally give in to your body’s demands.

If you don’t have any healthy food around, it’s a lose-lose situation - you can either eat junk now or overeat later. So be sure to have healthy snacks, like nuts, grapes, or raw carrots on hand so you can banish your hunger without eating something unhealthy and then regretting it.

3. Watch out for hidden sugar

You probably already know that something called “Deliciously Sweet Super Frosty Fun Treats” isn’t going to be good for you. Surprisingly, many foods that might seem healthy are crammed with sugar, and too much sugar can make you gain weight and cause all kind of health problems, including heart disease. Sugar-filled foods can include fruit rolls, flavored yogurts and “healthy” breakfast cereals.

Check the label for words like sucrose, fructose, dextrose, xylitol and high fructose corn syrup. These are all code words for sugar. If you see them near the top of the ingredients list, find something else to eat.

4. Ease up on canned food

Food that comes in a can often contains extra salt, and too much salt can raise your blood pressure. Canned food can have extra sugar too.

Cans are often lined with a chemical called BPA, which acts like the hormone estrogen and can cause problems with your hormones.

Of course, fresh food spoils, and sometimes you want to save food for later. If you have to choose between canned or frozen food, always choose frozen - and check the label for salt, sugar, preservatives and artificial colors and flavors.

5. Eat organic food

Food with the organic label doesn’t have artificial ingredients. Organic vegetables can’t be grown with artificial fertilizers or pesticides, and organic meat has to come from animals that have never been given antibiotics or hormones. When you eat food marked “organic”, you can be sure it doesn’t contain harmful chemicals.

6. Cook!

If you don’t already cook, start learning. When you cook for yourself, you can be sure of exactly what’s in the food you eat, and you can make sure that everything that goes in your body is healthy.

What’s more, you’ll be able to make food that tastes just the way you like it, experimenting with spices and other ingredients to create the perfect flavors - without relying on anything artificial.

You’ll also have the satisfaction of having created something all by yourself.

One more plus - cooking, rather than buying processed food, will save you money. Nothing wrong with that.

7. Use clean personal care products

Clean living isn’t just about what goes in your mouth. It’s also about what you put on your skin.

Buy organic personal care products or create your own, natural versions using items you can find around the house. For example, you can make a moisturizer out of honey and avocado, and you can use baking soda and cornstarch in place of deodorant you’d buy in a store.

8. Exercise

Exercise is an essential part of a clean lifestyle. Moving your body -whether that means going for a run, lifting weights or taking a spinning class-will give you more energy, help you control your weight, and make you feel great.

About the Author, Tom White:

Tom White shows people how to enjoy optimum health by reducing their exposure to environmental toxins, cleansing the body and eating (& living) clean. Find out more athttp://www.timetocleanse.com.